Chapter 60: Stop Jumping to Conclusions!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 60: Stop Jumping to Conclusions!
11
Around the time Ha-chan began his sword training with an iron sword Seo-ho had procured from somewhere, a woman sat by a third-floor window, gazing down at the trainees.
With eyes that looked perpetually half-open, she was none other than the Imugi, Jo Si-a.
Staring out the window, she began to tap her cheek with her index finger—a habit of hers whenever she was lost in thought.
The reason she had come to the academy was that Seo-ho had unexpectedly taken on a role as a temporary instructor.
Rumors had been swirling that he was preparing to challenge the Tower of Revelation. For a while, he had been clearing dimensional gates so relentlessly that it seemed the rumors might be true.
‘So I was picking up my pace, too.’
Since he was challenging the Tower, she, as his rival, couldn't just stand by. She had started pushing herself harder as well.
But at some point, the frequency of Seo-ho’s gate-clearing naturally decreased.
This was the modern world, after all, an era flooded with a sea of information.
Seo-ho had never made an official announcement about the Tower, and once he terminated his contract with JMC, all talk of it vanished completely.
Instead, a more dominant rumor began to circulate: that JMC, whose reputation had recently soured, had made unreasonable demands on Seo-ho as he tried to leave the company.
It even got to the point where people claimed JMC had started the rumor about the Tower of Revelation just to exploit him.
And in the midst of all that, he had suddenly shown up at the Hunter Training Academy.
‘I knew there had to be something here.’
She stopped tapping her cheek.
The reason JMC had started to crumble.
Using her connections, she had heard whispers about the cause.
It had something to do with the World Returnee Association.
‘Though I don’t know how much of it is true.’
JMC had antagonized the Association and was now suffering considerable humiliation to make amends. From what she heard, the company was being torn apart from the inside, which said it all.
From that alone, it was easy to deduce that Seo-ho had gotten involved with returnees.
‘Returnees, returnees…’
As she followed the threads of thought forming in her mind, Jo Si-a soon shook her head.
Right now, the more important question was why Seo-ho was at the academy.
At first, she had suspected Eunnamu, but he seemed to have no connection to Seo-ho whatsoever. He was skilled and his movements were excellent, but he didn't seem like someone Seo-ho would take a particular interest in.
The same went for the other trainees.
But there was one person who was different.
The F-rank hunter, Kang Ha-chan.
An electricity-type ability user.
His face was decent, his height and build were average. Honestly, he didn't seem particularly special.
But there was one thing that made her evaluate him differently.
The blackout incident from three days ago.
A massive surge of high-energy output, so powerful it had made her, an S-rank hunter, feel her hair stand on end. It was an overwhelming power the likes of which she had never experienced in her entire life.
That feeling was definitely from an electricity-type.
And among the current trainees, there was only one.
Kang Ha-chan.
‘He’s hiding his rank.’
He was intentionally lowering his registered rank.
‘With that kind of output, he’s definitely S-rank.’
And that wasn't all.
Having noticed something suspicious about Kang Ha-chan, she did some digging and found out he was an employee at the Rodri Company and was in charge of managing Seo-ho’s younger sister, Ha Si-ho.
And now, the Snow Mountain Wolf himself, Ha Seo-ho, was here at the academy, even assisting him.
‘Something’s fishy. Very fishy!’
Had a new S-rank hunter appeared, and was Seo-ho trying to recruit him without anyone knowing?
If so, then perhaps he really had been preparing for the Tower of Revelation, and Kang Ha-chan was the trump card he needed.
‘Our dear Snow Mountain Wolf always did hate those Alterz bastards.’
Alterz. The organization to which most of the world's S-rank hunters belonged.
It was a secret to the general public, but it was a well-known society among high-rank hunters.
For years, Alterz had been secretly controlling access to the Tower of Revelation. They would obstruct any hunter who wasn't a member from challenging it. An Alterz member squatting on one of the floors like a gatekeeper would break any non-member challenger and kick them out.
The reason no one could speak out against this was that Alterz, with the majority of S-rank hunters in its ranks, was just that powerful. They were a true powerhouse, capable of everything from controlling the media to carrying out private sanctions without their respective nations knowing.
But there was one exception they never touched.
‘The World Returnee Association.’
S-rank hunters were strong, but S-rank returnees were even stronger.
When a returnee challenged the Tower, Alterz would step aside as if nothing had happened. There was no benefit in needlessly provoking a lion.
For that same reason, the returnees didn't bother with Alterz either.
They weren't allies, but they weren't exactly enemies.
‘And they aren’t friends, either.’
Jo Si-a slowly laid out the information.
1. Ha Seo-ho’s recent rumors about challenging the Tower of Revelation.
2. Ha Seo-ho dislikes Alterz and has now left the organization.
3. Ha Seo-ho recently made contact with the World Returnee Association.
4. The existence of Rodri, a new company presumably established by the Association, and his departure from JMC.
5. Kang Ha-chan, his sister’s manager and a suspected S-rank hunter who came to the academy, is deliberately hiding his power.
Putting all the pieces together, Jo Si-a’s eyes slowly opened wide.
“Ha Seo-ho… is he planning to create a team to stand against Alterz?”
That was the conclusion she reached.
Seo-ho was joining hands with the World Returnee Association to build a team capable of resisting Alterz’s tyranny. He had come to the academy to watch over the S-rank hunter Kang Ha-chan and ensure he didn't get caught by Alterz.
“Bingo.”
A smile curved her violet eyes, as if she’d found the correct answer.
“How dare he try to do something so fun all by himself, leaving me out?”
She began to grin.
Just you wait, Ha Seo-ho. I won’t let you have all the fun.
With deep conviction in her own thoughts, she began to run swiftly down the hallway.
Of course, every single one of her conclusions was a complete misunderstanding.
12
During lunch, as I was eating, I found myself extremely conscious of the woman sitting in front of me.
The moment I sat down with my tray, she had appeared out of nowhere. Ignoring the stares of everyone around us, she sat across from me, beaming.
Imugi Jo Si-a.
I had guessed she came to the academy because of Seo-ho, and it seemed she’d finally figured out that Seo-ho was here because of me.
Otherwise, there was no reason for her to be staring only at me instead of Eunnamu.
Even though her eyes were practically slits and I couldn't see them, her gaze was incredibly burdensome.
Finally unable to take it anymore, I put down my chopsticks and looked at her.
“Is there something you need? You’re staring so hard I can’t tell if my food is going into my mouth or up my nose.”
“Oh, was I bothering you?”
“Who wouldn’t be bothered by this?”
She was the one making it impossible not to be bothered, yet she acted so shameless.
“I was just waiting to see when trainee Kang Ha-chan would finally speak up.”
Curious about the strangest things.
“What is it you’re so curious about?”
“Want to hear a theory I came up with?”
With a half-resigned expression, I nodded.
“Trainee Kang Ha-chan, you’re scheduled to join the new team Ha Seo-ho is forming with the World Returnee Association, right?”
What the hell is this nonsense?
As I stared at her with a dumbfounded expression, Jo Si-a seemed to take my reaction as confirmation.
“I know everything. You’re doing this because you can’t stand Alterz’s tyranny anymore.”
What’s Alterz?
“It’s an organization of S-rank hunters. All the high-rank hunter bastards know about it.”
Once again, Baeksan came through for me.
I thanked him internally.
“So, what is it you want?”
I had no idea how she’d come to that conclusion, but I knew she was completely mistaken. I had no intention of correcting her misunderstanding, so I asked, figuring I might as well hear her out.
“Let me join the team, too.”
And then came the unexpected request.
“That Alterz thing… aren’t you a member, Ms. Jo Si-a?”
If Alterz was an S-rank hunter organization, then she, an S-rank hunter, had to be a member. According to her theory, Seo-ho was opposing Alterz, so why was she asking to join his team?
“That’s right. Seo-ho was originally a member of Alterz, too. So all I have to do is quit and join, right?” she answered easily, as if it were a simple matter.
Watching her, a few questions came to mind. No matter how I looked at it, her current line of thinking was far too naive.
“Am I even allowed to be hearing this?”
Just then, Eunnamu blinked, a spoon in his mouth.
Sure, you can listen.
It’s all bullshit anyway.
“Alright. You think about it. Next question: what’s the relationship between you and Ha Seo-ho? Even if you’re on the same team, I think you’re way too close. I’ve never seen Seo-ho act like this in my life.”
Am I cursed with women lately?
Why am I getting so much attention from so many of them?
With Eunnamu’s words still ringing in my head, I clutched my throbbing forehead and answered.
“There’s no relationship between us.”
“Let me just say this first. I was high school classmates with the Snow Mountain Wolf, and we were even desk partners. We also went to the same Hunter Training Academy and have even been on the same team a few times.”
Was she bragging about how close she was to Seo-ho?
As I looked at her, wondering what her point was, Jo Si-a placed her hand under her chin in a V-shape.
“I may not look it, but among all the hunters, I’m the closest to him.”
Seo-ho had seemed quite annoyed by her, but she appeared to be oblivious.
“You think someone like me wouldn’t notice the subtle atmosphere between you two? I can see it all.”
“Can you really see it?”
“Are you doubting my eyes right now?”
No, it’s just that they’re closed, so I figured you couldn’t actually see anything.